Build Diary 1
We’ve been back in Bali for nearly two weeks now and boy is it good to be here after the cold of Europe. The hot, humid climate, the lazy days by the pool, the massages and good food… But wait, don’t we have a house to build? Yes! And I guess that’s exactly why you’re here, to hear about our progress on our own little slice of paradise.
So after the initial excitement of being back in Ubud, the hard work begins. But where to start?
Before we can commence building, the overgrown land, which consist of 2 rice terraces, needed to be cleared and flattened. So once word got out that there was a job to be done, people just magically came out of the woodworks and offered their help and within a couple of days, we had a flat base to work with. Most of the existing banana trees and other small shrubs were removed and the soil had been levelled as much as possible.
The next step before any real building can commence however, was to put the main services in place: A well to provide fresh water from underground (yes, water in Bali is free as it comes out of the ground) and electricity (not free, unless you go for solar, which is not all that easy in Bali). So that’s what happened last week as well and now we have fresh water coming out of the ground. Amazing!
Last weekend we also started to dig the holes for the 18 concrete pylons which will form the base of the garage, which will be the first building to be completed. The plan is to have the garage/workshop up by Christmas, with the other two buildings to follow in the new year.
The process sounds easy enough, but communication can be a real struggle at times and even the most basic things need to be discussed many times before everything is understood 100%. So any measurements need to be measured again and again and then double and triple checked by us before the spade hits the ground.
On another note, we actually decided to change the design of the house after sitting at the local Starbakso last Friday and nearly drowning in the tropical rain. This is our first rainy season in Bali and we honestly didn’t expect there to be SO.MUCH.RAIN.
So the new plans will feature a slightly different roof line and include a really cool drainage system which will become one of the main features of the house. More on this later!
Last but not least, we had the very first of quite a few steel panels made, which will form the floor structure of the house, and it looks great! As with anything here in Indonesia, prices are negotiable and after adhering to our self imposed rule of obtaining at least 3 quotes for any major works/items, we ended up getting quite a good deal from two local manufacturers. Happy days.
The base of our house!
For now, we have ordered 9 more panels which will be enough to complete the floor of the garage. Hopefully, all concrete pylons will be in place by the end of this week so that we can start installing the floor as the steel panels arrive. Phew!
Stay tuned for the next update early next week!
Sean & Anna